Quantum Body

October 15, 2023
More alleged illuminations of the symbiotic mind-body relationship. "The quantum model offers a solution because it is based on 'real' reality," asserts prolific author Chopra, a prominent proponent of New Age perspectives and approaches to holistic health. Of the 30+ years since the publication of his book Quantum Healing, he writes, "it has taken all this time to reveal many findings that were only hinted at until medical science, physics, and biology caught up." In this collaboration with physics professor Tuszynski and endocrinologist Fertig, Chopra argues that the book is "offering a revolutionary perspective." In this well-intentioned yet thorny and grandiose book, the authors claim that "your real body isn't what you think it is...Your real body is a quantum creation." Corollaries to this premise include: "To find out who you really are, we must go to a place hardly anyone ever thinks about--infinity"; "Your brain will never lead you to expanded awareness or higher states of consciousness"; "You stand at the pivot point of creation, because your body is defined by how you relate to it." As he has in many previous books, from Perfect Health to Total Meditation, Chopra draws from yogic texts--e.g., "Existence contains everything, which is why in ancient India the all-encompassing unity of existence was named Brahman, from the Sanskrit root that means 'to grow or expand.' Brahman is the ultimate reality because it can expand infinitely." In chapters with titles such as "Reality Is Experience" and "Infinity Is the New Normal," the authors repeatedly attempt to bolster the "two most powerful conclusions that drive this book: Well-being is weakened whenever there is a failure of intelligence. Well-being is strengthened when intelligence flows naturally." Devotees of holistic medicine may find enough to ponder, but the authors overcomplicate most of the insights they claim to clarify. For stalwart Chopra fans only.

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November 6, 2023
Bestseller Chopra (Living in the Light) partners with University of Alberta physicist Tuszynski and endocrinologist Fertig (Metabolism and Medicine) in this nonsensical treatise that promises far more than it delivers. Improving oneself physically and spiritually, the authors argue, requires getting in touch with one’s “quantum body,” a concept they fail to define coherently that apparently alludes to the fact that all matter and energy, including humans, arise from quantum fields. Despite the ostensible focus on physics, there’s very little science here, with the authors instead putting forward unsupported assertions they don’t bother to explain, such as “the ego’s fundamental insecurity... is inescapable,” and “at the level of the quantum body, existence is perfect. A flow of creative intelligence organizes everything without making any mistakes.” Even more baffling is the anodyne health advice, which has nothing to do with quantum physics; chapters on the importance of eating an “organic whole-foods diet” (lots of lentils, fruits, and vegetables) and reducing stress by getting enough sleep don’t mention any connection to quantum phenomena. The overabundant use of “quantum” (quantum worlds, horizons, events, healing, and metabolism are all referenced) obscures more than it reveals, making this sound like dialogue from a late-period Marvel film with the scientific rigor to match. Readers will be left scratching their heads.